Richard Buxton
talks with composer Jeff Russo about his foray into writing music for
television, balancing his career between composing for film and TV with his
band-work, how he came to write the score for the first season of Fargo and
more.

Fox's
television-series-turned-cultural-phenomenon,
"24," began airing some 13
years ago and with each tick
of the proverbial and
practical clock, with each
twist, turn and double-turn
experienced by Jack Bauer
and his covert cohorts was
the music of composer SEAN
CALLERY. Richard
Buxton chats with the
composer about the legacy
and challenges of "24,"
and his return to the
franchise with 24: LIVE
ANOTHER DAY.

Oscar Araujo talks about his foray into the musical world of Castlevania. He
opens up about his own personal love for the original games, his respect for
the franchise music that came before, looking to set a world record
recording with 237 musicians at Abbey Road Studios, and what he is working
on next.

COMPOSER JESPER KYD talks about
taking the musical reigns for the Darksiders franchise with his score for
DARKSIDERS II, its unique challenges, and finding inspiration for scoring
death, hell, and heaven.

As the ABC dramedy CASTLE continues through its
fourth season on air, versatile composer ROBERT DUNCAN explores his
work on the show and his previous experiences of scoring hits such
as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, THE UNIT and THE CHICAGO CODE, and
offers an insight into the differences between TV and Film scoring.

Composer Mark Griskey talks about returning to score THE FORCE
UNLEASHED, how the music for the franchise has evolved since the first game,
and what it was like working on this project at the same time as STAR WAR:
THE OLD REPUBLIC.

Tom Hajdu, part of the seasoned scoring duo
Tomandandy, joins us to discuss their involvement in scoring
RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE. Tom explains how the writing process was
different from other projects, how the score stands apart from other
work that they've done and that others have done, and what his
speculations are for the future of film and its music. -
Interview by Marius Masalar

SEAN WILLIAMS, author of the novelization of STAR
WARS THE FORCE UNLEASHED, the recently released, STAR WARS: THE OLD
REPUBLIC – FATAL ALLIANCE, shares about his recent works, his
passion for film music and what he listens to when writing. He
also shares about some of his all-time favorite soundtracks, why the
year, 1981, is such an important year and how he faced the difficult
choice between writing and composing music.

Composer KEVIN RIEPL shares about his latest project, CRACKDOWN 2, which is
the highly anticipated sequel to the surprise 2007 hit, CRACKDOWN. He also
shares about this year's E3, the status of DAMAGE VAULT, and other upcoming
projects: HUNTED: THE DEMON FORGE and ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES!

Tracksounds talks with composer JAMIE
CHRISTOPHERSON about his work for one of Capcom's most anticipated
game sequels, LOST PLANET 2. Jamie shares about working
with Audio Director, TOMOYA KISHI, collaborating with Capcom-staff
composer, MARIKA SUZUKI, and what it was like returning to the LOST
PLANET world and the differences we'll hear in the original score
this time out.

Capcom Audio Director, Tomoya Kishi
and composer Marika Suzuki discuss their unique approach to the
music and sound design of LOST PLANET 2: the collaboration with
composer Jamie Christopherson, their use of Source Connect and Skype
to virtually attend the recording sessions in Los Angeles and the
possibility of more for the land of E.D.N. in the future!

Just days prior to the release of the
hotly anticipated film, DISTRICT 9, composer Clinton Shorter talks
about suddenly being in the spotlight, his long,
working-relationship with director Neil Blomkamp, and finding the
right musical blend for his original score.

Coming off one of the busiest seasons
of his career, composer Brian Tyler shares about his two latest
projects: DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, FAST AND FURIOUS and THE
LAZARUS PROJECT. He
also answers fan submitted questions touching on where his love of
vests came from, how he chooses the music for the original
soundtrack releases, how he handles rejection and industry-walls.
He also discusses some of his upcoming, 2009 projects!

Composer Joris
de Man shares about his epic score for the hit video game KILLZONE 2.
He returns to the game-verse he helped to create in the original KILLZONE,
this time solely focusing on writing the original score. He contrasts
his writing experiences for the two games and the musical advantages that
have come with the next-gen (PS3) consoles.

After the mega-hit CALL OF DUTY:
MODERN WARFARE, developer TREYARCH returns the franchise to World
War II in CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR. We speak with composer
SEAN MURRAY about his genre-bending score, the ideas behind the
divergences from the norm and his special connection to both the
game's setting and recording in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Just prior to the soundtrack release
of VALKYRIE and the feature film release on December 25, 2008,
composer and editor JOHN OTTMAN shares about his ongoing working
relationship with BRYAN SINGER, the unique challenges posed when
both editing and scoring Valkyrie, and his thoughts about involvement
with the long rumored SUPERMAN sequel, THE MAN OF STEEL, and even
Mark Milar's reboot-trilogy idea.

The two names behind the musical
voice of the PRINCE OF PERSIA game franchise come together to score
the next-gen console version of the game. Both INON ZUR and
STUART CHATWOOD share about their histories in the franchise, the
unique challenges provided by this iteration of the game, and their
process for working together.

Tracksounds catches up with JESSE
HARLIN, music supervisor of not only THE FORCE UNLEASHED but the
newly released video game, FRACTURE. Jesse, a staff-composer
at LucasArts himself, shares about some of the special challenges
that FRACTURE brought to himself and the composing team of Michael
Giacchino, Chris Tilton, and Chad Seiter. He also comments on
the unsung praise of the musical supervisor and the role this
specific score plays in this unique shooter. Also, proudly
presented are 30 second clips of 22 audio tracks from the FRACTURE
soundtrack.

Composer Jeff Beal returns to
work with actor/director Ed Harris on APPALOOSA. He shares about his
work relationship with the director, Harris, the challenges of writing a
score for a Western, and what he'd like to do next.

Between long-distance jaunts
across the Pacific Ocean, Tracksounds is able to catch up with
composer/producer Miho Nomura and discuss her journey into new media music,
the state of the music-business in Asia, her production of Stevie Wonder's
2007 tour in Japan, and the scarcity of Asians in the music-side of
Hollywood.

Tracksounds was able to talk with composer Mark Griskey
about his work on LucasArts next big game, THE FORCE UNLEASHED.
He shares about following in the tradition of John Williams, the
unique challenges posed by the game's story, and recording the first
Star Wars game score at Skywalker Sound.

Just after the
release of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN, composer Harry Gregson-Williams
shares about his return to Narnia, his feelings about moving on from the
franchise, what he's doing with up-and-coming-composers like David Buckley
and Stephen Barton at his Wavecrest Studios, and his upcoming projects which
include X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Fresh off of the success of
award-winning documentary, SHARKWATER, composer Jeff Rona talks
about his latest project - composing a symphony for the regatta
events of the Beijing Olympics. He shares candidly about the
challenges organizationally and musically that effort has faced, as well as detail regarding the music
and performers themselves.

Just over a month before the release
OF the highly anticipated follow-up to BATMAN BEGINS, we are able to
speak with film music's own "dynamic duo" HANS ZIMMER AND JAMES
NEWTON HOWARD. They share their thoughts on how they have continued
in the collaborative tradition begun with the first film, their
treatment of themes for Batman and the Joker, and about "the note."

Just a few days prior to the release
of the highly-anticipated IRON MAN, composer Ramin Djawadi talks
with Tracksounds about his experience working on the project with
director John Favreau and with score producer, Hans Zimmer. He
also shares about other recent and upcoming projects:
DECEPTION, PRISON BREAK, and OPEN SEASON 2.

Helmut
Vonlichten of the enigmatic duo, E.S. Posthumus, shares his feelings about
the success of their first release Unearthed, their work for CBS, their
latest project with Luna Sans, Cartographer, and if scoring a film is in
their future!

Composer Tyler Bates talks about his
recent project DOOMSDAY, paying homage to classic genre films from the 80s,
his upcoming video game score, RISE OF THE ARGONAUTS, and two more film
projects: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and WATCHMEN.

Rushing from
L.A.X. (if that is actually possible), I made my way to Wavecrest Studios,
where composer DAVID BUCKLEY had just finished a meeting with director JOEL
SCHUMACHER. I was, most generously, welcomed in and, over the next
hour, I was treated to a tour of the state-of-the-art facility. I
talked with David Buckley about how came into the film-music business, his
work-relationship with Harry Gregson-Williams, and his two new projects:
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM and TOWN CREEK.

Tracksounds is able to get both
composers Kaveh Cohen and Michael Nielsen on the line for quick chat
regarding their upcoming score for the much-anticipated SPLINTER
CELL: CONVICTION vdieo game, as well as the new TV animated-series,
WOLVERINE and the X-MEN. The co-composers also talk about
their library of trailer music entitiled FULL TILT and Kaveh Cohen's
score for the 2007 Audio Book of the Year, THE BIBLE EXPERIENCE.

Composer Christopher Lennertz takes a
few minutes away from
working on season 3 of
SUPERNATURAL to talk
with us about his most
recent foray into
comedy genre, scoring
parody films, his
composing-partnership
with Timothy Wynn, how
the writer's strike is
now effecting
composers and finally
his thoughts on having
his work released on
iTunes and AmazonMp3.

Just prior to the release of the
BEOWULF the film and the Ubisoft video game tie-in, Tracksounds was able to
fire off a few questions to one of the most prolific scoring duos of
the game world. Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco talk about
their work on BEOWULF: THE GAME, influence from Alan Silvestri's
score, recording at Skywalker Sound,
meeting George Lucas, and their careers beyond the genre
of game music.

James Michael Dooley - Music to Die (and live and die again) for!October 2007

On a late Saturday afternoon,
Tracksounds was
able to catch a few moments with composer JAMES MICHAEL DOOLEY who
is deep into writing a ton of music for the new, hit television
series, PUSHING DAISIES. He shares his feelings about his work
being compared to Danny Elfman and the creative challenges he faces
in writing for such a
unique show and the
sheer volume of work
he must produce every
six days!

As 2KGames continues to get rave
reviews for their ground-breaking effort BIOSHOCK, Tracksounds speaks with
composer GARRY SCHYMAN about his work on the project, his thoughts
about a potential paradyme shift in the gaming industry, and his
most recent project DESTROY ALL HUMANS: PATH OF THE FURON.

A couple of months prior
to the 2007/2008 NFL football season kicking off, Tracksounds speaks
with composer DAVID ROBIDOUX about being a part of the musical
legacy of NFL FILMS. He shares about the foundation laid by
composer Sam Spence and Steve Sabol, about the new era of music at
NFL Films and the new NFL NETWORK.

Just a few days before the wide
release of Zack Snyder's 300, Tracksounds is able to talk with 300's
score composer, TYLER BATES. He shares about his work for the
ground-breaking film, his influences, and his desire to continue to
work with visionary directors.

Just a few days before the wide
release of Zack Snyder's 300, Tracksounds is able to talk with 300's
score composer, TYLER BATES. He shares about his work for the
ground-breaking film, his influences, and his desire to continue to
work with visionary directors.

LOST PLANET: EXTREME CONDITION has
been one of the most highly anticipated releases for the XBOX 360
since the game console's release. Game producer, Capcom, brought
back composer JAMIE CHRISTOPHERSON, to provide the score for the
first-person-shooter. Tracksounds was able to catch up with Jamie to
talk about LOST PLANET, some of his other projects and the growing industry of game music.

Tracksounds was able to interrupt
composer Mychael
Danna's busy schedule
to talk about his
popular work for THE
NATIVITY STORY.
He shares openly about
his unique approach to
scoring this epic, yet
intimate story and how
this film tapped into
some reservoirs of
talent that Hollywood
rarely taps into.

Tracksounds
speaks with composer
HOWARD SHORE just
after the release of
the second installment
of his mammoth LORD OF
THE RINGS music
project: THE TWO
TOWERS COMPLETE
RECORDINGS.
Howard Shore shares
about his experience
in putting the
complete releases
together, his work on
the Lord of the Rings
Symphony, his foree
into the video game
genre, SOUL OF THE
ULTIMATE NATION, and
his possible
involvement in THE
HOBBIT!

The day after the world premiere ofSNAKES ON A PLANE, TREVOR RABIN
takes a short break from finishing up yet another upcoming-score,
THE GUARDIAN to talk with Tracksounds. He shares about
some of his most recent projects: SNAKES ON A PLANE
and FLYBOYS, about how he
handles scoring multiple projects, and his involvement in the film
NATIONAL TREASURE 2.

Tracksounds speaks with
composer CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ after the announcement of his Emmy
nomination for his score to the pilot episode of the hit television
series, SUPERNATURAL, and just a few weeks before his wedding!
The composer shares about his experience on the show, his upcoming
score for the 3D-animated film SHARK BAIT, upcoming release of his
score for the video game GUN and two upcoming projects for two SONY
PLAYSTATION 3 titles!

On the heels of receiving a Golden Globe
Nomination for Best Dramatic Score for his work for NARNIA: THE
LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, Tracksounds is able to speak with
composer, Harry Gregson-Williams about his epic score, working with
director Andrew Adamson, and even the influence (or lack thereof) of
Howard Shore's work for THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

The Medal of Honor
franchise was put on the musical-map by composer Michael Giacchino's
stellar efforts. Now, as the Medal of Honor video game series
continues, it does so under the musical direction of an
up-and-coming-composer. Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
composer, Christopher Lennertz shares about this latest high-profile
project!

As the The Matrix franchise retakes theatres
all over the world, the Wachowski Brother's, along with Atari and Shiny
Entertainment, are about to take over Playstation 2s, Gamecubes, Xboxes, and
PCs, with the video game, ENTER THE MATRIX. Tracksounds catches up with the
man behind the music of this groundbreaking game - Erik Lundborg.